[BC] SCA ON TRANSLATORS

[Mark Humphrey]

In upstate NY, we had the "Empire State FM Network" licensed to Functional Broadcasting (the Wertheimer family) which consisted of WBUF Buffalo, WVOR Rochester, WDDS Syracuse, and WFLY Albany (WBUF and WDDS were grandfathered at over 90 kW.)   Occasionally, I still see abandoned rooftop yagis on commercial buildings aimed at those transmitter sites. 

Muzak ran on a 41 kHz subcarrier and 67 was used for spots that were directed to specific stores.  Main channel programming was an afterthought in those days!  Eventually, the network was broken up and sold to different owners.  WBUF moved into the city several years ago and is still grandfathered at 75 kW, but had to go directional (20 dB protection towards Canada.)

Regarding the question of SCAs on translators, I recall that Gerry Turro may have leased out a 67 kHz subcarrier on his former Fort Lee, NJ translator W276AQ back in the late 80s.     This became the rather popular "Jukebox Radio" translator that got him in some trouble with the FCC, but the question was whether he took an off-air signal from the primary station in Monticello, NY, or fed it by alternate means.   As far as I know, the primary didn't run SCA. 

Mark

On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 10:41 AM, Burt I. Weiner <biwa at att.net> wrote:
>I know this is deviating (no pun intended) from the topic, but for
>history's sake... The origin of using subcarriers to "enhance" the
>main channel (FM broadcast audio) goes back to the "Simplex" days
>when super-sonic "Beeper tones"* were used to mute receivers.  This
>was common in the early days of FM Broadcasting when stations used
>their main channel audio for "Store-Casting" or to provide background
>music to restaurants and other businesses**.